Game Warden Field Notes

The following items are compiled from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement reports.

Oops, We Did It AgainA Red River County game Warden and two Bowie County game wardens received information about a possible road hunting incident near a residence. The property owner and his wife were outside at the time and after hearing shots, the husband, who had been drinking, jumped into his vehicle and began to chase the hunters. While in pursuit, in an attempt to stop the hunters the man began shooting a pistol out of his window. The man rammed the hunters’ vehicle and in the process flipped his vehicle over and suffered serious injuries. The hunters had called 911 to report they were being shot at. When wardens contacted the suspected road hunters, they denied having weapons and shooting at anything. Unaware that their 911 call had not been dropped as they believed, in the background officials could clearly hear someone say, “hide the gun in them woods,” and “not that far, we’re gonna come back and get it tonight.” After hearing the 911 tape, the three hunters gave statements admitting to shooting at multiple animals from the road that day as well as committing multiple burglaries of habitations and storage buildings in the Dekalb area. Wardens also interviewed the hunters about a year-long investigation regarding the slaying of an 8-point buck last August in Red River County. The hunters admitted to being on the ranch illegally and shooting the buck leaving it to waste. A total of 24 cases were filed on the three individuals. Meanwhile, the overzealous property owner was filed on for DWI and deadly conduct.

MisguidedLlano County game warden and a Lampasas County game warden were patrolling Lake LBJ when they stopped a fishing guide. The guide has been known to keep undersized fish in the past, and after a quick water safety inspection the wardens inspected an ice chest full of fish which included some that were undersized. The wardens took the guide and fish onto their boat and measured all the fish. They found eight undersized crappie and one undersized black bass. Citations were issued and all the fish were seized.

Photo FinishA Guadalupe County game warden was called out at around 10 p.m. for a boat wreck/hit-and-run on Lake Dunlap. Comal County wardens got the original call and called Guadalupe County for assistance. It was reported that around dark, a ski boat ran over the front of a kayak. Fortunately, the man on the kayak suffered only minor injuries and the impact put both boats against the bank in some trees. The kayaker attempted to get the ski boat operator’s identification and insurance information and had no luck. The kayaker was holding on to the ski boat as he tried to reason with the driver. The ski boat driver took a swing at the kayaker who then took a picture of the operator and the Texas boat registration number with his iPhone. The ski boat operator then sped off dragging the kayaker more than 100 yards before he let go. A Comal County game warden ran the TX number and it came back to a resident on the lake. The game warden provided the Guadalupe County game warden with the information and he went to the residence. After a brief interview, the ski boat operator was placed under arrest for assault causing bodily injury. Other charges may follow pending further investigation. The ski boat did have transfer marks from hitting the kayak.

Drive-up ServiceA Polk County game warden was checking boat ramps on Lake Livingston when he saw someone motor his pontoon boat up to a local boat ramp at a high rate of speed. The warden watched as the subject got out of his boat and staggered up through the parking lot to retrieve his truck. The warden stopped the subject and conducted standard field sobriety tests. The subject failed the test and was placed under arrest for BWI.

Falling Beer Can Leads to ArrestTwo Comal County game wardens were working water safety enforcement on Canyon Lake when they saw a man who was not wearing a life jacket while he was operating his personal watercraft inside the no wake area near a boat ramp. As the wardens approached they observed a can of beer fall from the PWC into the water. During a water safety inspection, the game wardens located two more empty beer cans. Due to the man’s confused demeanor, slurred speech, and the strong odor of alcohol on his breath, the game wardens decided to conduct sobriety tests on him. The operator was arrested for boating while intoxicated and was booked in the Comal County Jail.

2012-08-08

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